Every Day Zen
My writing is going well these days for which I am grateful. Yet, life requires focus on each moment and not just writing. Too often, I think I know better, and I don’t. So, I am shown that I’m responsible for the energy I bring to any space. (Thank you for that, Dr. Jill Bolte... Continue Reading →
Today’s #LongerView explores prednisone as part of Pema Chodron’s teaching on groundlessness. Unexpectedly, the temporary increase has resulted in yet another lesson in The Energy of Being in the Moment. It has been a pleasant surprise. As always, I provide the swinging bench. Aim for Even posts offer... Continue Reading →
For me, mindfulness is the source of infinite possibilities. In mining the details of the present, I set up my options for the future. Yet, nothing stays, even in stone. I like the fluidity of the present but the past is immutable. Once, I spent a lot of time there but rarely do I visit... Continue Reading →
If equanimity opens me to the colors of the day, mindfulness provides the canvas. These are my daily tools, and I keep them close. If I do not, ego will send me in search of something so promising that to escape the day seems my only choice. As well, I am provided 1001 reasons why... Continue Reading →
In preparation for our mother’s memorial service, I am scanning photographs. It has been some time since I opened these albums. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I looked. I am trying to decide which images best represent those early years. I find myself looking into everyone's eyes--all full of love and innocence.... Continue Reading →
So often I forget the quiet that is courage, having been deafened by my own roar. Every particle of creation sings its own song of what is and what is not. Hearing what is can make you wise; hearing what is not can drive you mad. (Sufi poet Ghalib) And so I do drive myself... Continue Reading →
Rebecca Solnit says the unknown is where the “most important things come from,” where we all came from and where we will return. She advises we leave this “door into the dark” open. The more present I am, the more I agree with her. To be in the moment is to walk through the... Continue Reading →
Every day is a blank slate, if we greet it empty of the experience of yesterday. Some time ago, I purchased a blank slate—chalkboard—as a visual, tactile reminder. It matters not whether I note an experience in chalk dust. It is the image that frames my daily dose. My day is not a chalkboard checklist;... Continue Reading →
Some mornings, as I awake to the day, I meet “monkey mind,” zigzagging in and out of what prove to be irresistible thoughts. What a storyline it creates; I go all in and attach. Every time, it’s the storyline that hooks me. Sometimes, attachment (shenpa) is a daylong experience of escape, one wearying moment after another. It... Continue Reading →
Aim For Even: The Daily Dose 